Displaying items by tag: Karen Andrews

Last October, with great fanfare, Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews announced the Ransomware Action Plan, vowing to make it compulsory for businesses with an annual turnover of $10 million or more to report ransomware attacks.

The Federal Government has opened a new centre to combat online crime, to be led by the Australian Federal Police, alongside a national plan to combat online crimes.

GUEST OPINION: Information and security professionals face the uncomfortable and bleak reality that ransomware will only get worse in 2022: increasing in its sophistication, frequency, and volume. Ransomware continues to be aided by the consistent disruption caused by the pandemic, the adoption of new technologies that increase data generation and information sharing, and the ongoing remote working by millions who are based outside the perimeter defences of their office’s network.

Australia and the US have signed an agreement to make it easier to share data about crimes in either country.

The Federal Government says it has taken strong action to shut down scam text messages, making an important regulatory amendment empowering the telecommunication sector to identify and block SMS scams at source.

Existing methods to detect and nab cyber criminals are likely to be ineffective in the years ahead, judging from the projections of consulting firm PwC, the chairman of the digital identity provider VeroGuard claims.

The Federal Government has ignored the pleas of technology industry bodies and passed a bill that will enable it to take control of private infrastructure as a last resort in the event of a cyber attack.

In what is a snub to the technology industry at large, the Coalition Government has re-introduced the Security Legislation Amendment (Critical Infrastructure) Bill 2020 into parliament for a second reading, not long after three major tech industry bodies urged a significant revision of the bill before it is voted on.

Scott Morrison wants to get re-elected. Nothing wrong with that aspiration; which man who earns more than half-a-million a year without having to take responsibility for anything at all wouldn't want to continue in the job?

Three technology industry bodies have urged the Federal Government to significantly revise the Security Legislation Amendment (Critical Infrastructure) Bill 2020 before it is voted on, as it would otherwise "create an unworkable set of obligations and set a troubling global precedent".

The Federal Government's Ransomware Action Plan has received a lukewarm welcome from security professionals, with one calling for an increased focus on prevention and adoption of advanced cyber security measures.

The Federal Government will make it compulsory for businesses that have an annual turnover of $10 million or more to report ransomware attacks, Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews says.

Cybersecurity company Fortinet has recently completed its investment in the Federal Government Integration and Innovation Centre in Canberra, which is set to open in the fourth quarter of 2021.

The Federal Government has given a grant of $2.7 million to Skill Finder, the digital micro-skills marketplace developed by the Australian technology industry.

Australian lithium-ion battery manufacturer Energy Renaissance has announced that it will develop a defence-grade cybersecure Battery Management System (BMS) for its superStorage family of batteries that are to be manufactured in Tomago, NSW.

The CSIRO's Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder, a radio telescope that has few equals in the world, has been used to conduct a survey of the entire southern sky in record speed and detail, creating a new atlas of the universe.

The Australian Government has appointed renowned physicist Dr Cathy Foley as the country's next chief scientist, replacing Dr Alan Finkel whose tenure ends in December.

Researchers from Australia's national science agency, the CSIRO, and the University of Queensland have sighted genetic fragments of the COVID-19 virus, SARS-CoV-2, after testing aircraft and cruise ship wastewater once these means of transport reached their destinations.

Queensland is set to strengthen its position in the cyber security sector, with three new Cyber Security Innovation Nodes to be established across the state.

The Federal Government has supported the launch of a new website by the technology sector aimed at giving support to businesses with staff working remotely during the COVID-19 outbreak.